Reflections on the EU Course

My name is Ali and I’m from Saudi Arabia. I have a bachelor’s degree in science. I have taught for five years in my country. I would like to study a master of Education at Massey University. I have taken the EU course at Languages International to improve my English language and develop my academic language. In addition, I thought this course would help me to enhance my academic performance at university in the future.

The EU course is very informative. I have been taught nearly two hours a day. After that, I have to review what I have learned in class for at least an hour daily. Moreover, I have done some useful homework weekly as well as one assignment per fortnight. Interestingly, this course covers different types of topics such as culture, economics, politics and energy resources. One of the most interesting and beneficial topics was developing listening and note taking skills.

Studying at university requires good academic English skills. Consequently I have decided to do this excellent course. My main role and responsibilities as a student were attending classes regularly, doing my homework and assignments, as well as revising what I have been taught at class on a daily basis.

The major English language skills consist of reading, listening and writing. These skills should be developed by students who want to study English language effectively and efficiently. Firstly, students might want to read about topics which interest them and write down some useful words in their field to improve their reading skills and vocabulary. Secondly, from my point of view, watching documentaries and scientific programmes especially with subtitles is one of the most useful ways to improve listening skills.

Also, listening to news such as the BBC is another excellent thing. The BBC is a famous news channel which broadcasts various kinds of interesting topics and the formal English is used.

There are some common difficulties that Arab students face. Writing skills are considered one of the biggest problems. For example, in Arabic we write from right to left, but in English it is the opposite. Also, in Arabic verbs come before nouns. Furthermore, we do not have capital letters like English does. Arab students should be conscious of these points. Learning English grammar is essential when learning to build the writing skills. As a result Arab students should focus on it. They can find a lot of useful books in the Learning Centre, for example, Grammar in Use.

Finally, the EU course is important for most students who plan to study at university. It prepares students for the university environment. This course is taught by professional and highly experienced teachers. For example, I was afraid on my first day because there were a lot of Arab students in my class. However, my great teacher solved this obstacle wisely. For this reason I would like to say thanks to the EU course teachers and administrators.

"With my five months of unsuccessful job research, I know it would have been impossible to find the same job in France. Languages International, with this work placement, helped me to find an unbelievable opportunity to gain a first job experience in my domain." (Read more...)